The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Shing!

The guild members of Champion Overlord, who had been occupying the A-rank Town Tree, simultaneously drew their weapons. But Zhang Dong couldn’t bring himself to give the attack order.

‘He’s controlling that many weapons? Could it be…?’

The atmosphere and the mana emanating from the masked man were anything but ordinary.

Step, step.

As the masked man approached and drew a spear from midair, Zhang Dong’s eyes widened in shock.

“B-b-Bae Dohyun…?!”

There was no mistaking it. That spear was a custom weapon made specifically for Bae Dohyun. His battle footage had already become widely known through various quests and scenarios.

His main capabilities were spear and swordsmanship, rivaling even top NPCs. Moreover, his psychokinetic weapon control had only increased in number over time.

Based on his combat style and affiliations, experts had drawn a conclusion. Bae Dohyun was Count Raul’s disciple. Periodic inactive periods are likely due to receiving instruction from him.

And considering that the number of weapons he controlled had doubled since the Ruben Kingdom civil war, this seemed certain.

Gulp.

Zhang Dong swallowed hard and glanced at his surroundings. Nearly a hundred guild members were standing behind him.

‘Could we… win? If we could just defeat Bae Dohyun….’

It could make him an extraordinary star. Since Connect’s service began 2 years and 3 months ago, Bae Dohyun had never once relinquished the Rank 1 position.

Moreover, in official combat, he had never lost to anyone. Be it in single combat or when outnumbered.

‘However, he hasn’t faced players recently.’

When Bae Dohyun resumed activities after the Ruben Kingdom civil war, players had already become staunch believers in the Purple Association.

Opposing factions had to carefully avoid receiving quests against the Purple Association. Thus, all of Bae Dohyun’s exploits in the latter part of the civil war had been against NPC forces.

‘Yes, a lot of time has passed. As in all games, the gap between the frontrunners tends to narrow over time.’

Although Zhang Dong wasn’t a top-10 ranker (his ranking was 538), the players gathered here were all within the top-10,000.

With no vast level differences, there was a slim chance that they could really—

Even as Zhang Dong started to build a hopeful narrative in his mind, his body betrayed him. As Bae Dohyun drew nearer, Zhang Dong instinctively stepped back, giving way.

The others followed suit. The mere mention of ‘Bae Dohyun’ by Zhang Dong had a powerful impact. Some guild members were already inching backwards, ready to flee at any moment.

“Huh. What a disappointment.”

As Bae Dohyun muttered to himself while passing by, his words stung Zhang Dong’s ears, yet he couldn’t muster a response.

Watching Bae Dohyun’s back as he walked down the aisle formed by the parting guild members, Zhang Dong suddenly remembered the guild master’s orders.

Do whatever it takes to prevent the unknown ranker from accepting the quest. The potential consequences of failure flashed through his mind.

‘Damn it. Do I have choice?’

Even if they fought and died, they could simply respawn. But disobeying orders would cause issues in the real world.

The Champion Overlord Guild’s guild master was the son of a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Politburo.

Just as Zhang Dong gritted his teeth and was about to give the attack order,

「Bae Dohyun has appeared?」

The guild communication window activated, and the guild master spoke. Apparently, a guild member had reported it while Zhang Dong confronted Bae Dohyun.

「Plan change. Let him accept the quest.」

「What? Just let him be?」

「Yes. If it’s Bae Dohyun, it’s a different story. He might actually complete the A-rank quest solo. If he fails, so be it. But if he succeeds…!」

「Ah, the guardian statue!」

「Exactly! We’ll take the guardian statue and claim the pioneering site. Stop what you’re doing and gather at Pioneering Site A-07 immediately! We’ll lay traps and wait for him.」

「As expected of the guild master! Conquering the eastern Forbidden Zone will be a piece of cake for our Champion Overlord Guild!」

Praise for the guild master flooded the communication channel. Zhang Dong, not wanting to fall behind, also showered the guild master with compliments, calling the plan a divine tactical brilliance.

‘So now we just have to open the path… Oh, it’s already open.’

Even without orders, the path to the quest’s guardian statue was as clear as a ten-lane highway. Bae Dohyun leisurely passed through the Champion Overlord Guild members, received the quest, and departed from the Town Tree.

“Humph. Consider yourself lucky. If not for the guild master’s orders, you would’ve died right here!”

By then, Bae Dohyun was already out of earshot. Zhang Dong, having thrown out a final remark, quickly retreated into the Town Tree, fearing Bae Dohyun might return.

*

「Hmph! Cowards.」

Rabel, perched on Raul’s shoulder, looked back at the Town Tree and stuck out her tongue.

Turning back, she asked,

「Their intentions are obvious. What’s your plan?」

「Well, we’ll see how they play it. If they hand over the pioneering site quietly, there’s no need to expend unnecessary energy. But if they don’t…」

Raul clenched his fist and swung it fiercely toward the air.

Boom!

A bat-like wind elemental monster shattered into pieces.

「They’ll learn the true meaning of an overwhelming power gap.」

There was no need to go out of his way to hunt down every cockroach hiding in the shadows.

‘If they start acting up in front of me, I’ll have no choice but to squash them.’

Explosions continued to erupt around Bae Dohyun as he walked.

Boom! Crash! Bang!

Thirty or so daggers darted around, obliterating any approaching elemental monsters.

“Indeed, this is quite bothersome.”

The eastern Forbidden Zone Elemental Jungle was notorious for the difficulty of its pioneering quests. This was mainly due to the endless assaults by elemental monsters that started the moment one accepted a quest.

The attacks, involving low to high-tier elemental monsters (from F to B rank), continued relentlessly until the guardian statue was returned to its place.

Combining natural disasters of the Elemental Jungle with monster rushes created a situation of constant high tension. Moreover, the quest to find the guardian statue came with a time limit.

The allotted time varied by quest rank, but exceeding the limit meant the quest reset and the Town Tree moved to a new location.

‘So, you can’t just accept the quest and use the Town Tree as a base.’

In his past life, Bae Dohyun had struggled greatly because of this. Already in conflict with major guilds, resupplying was difficult, and the sheer difficulty of the quests, compounded by guild interference, made things even tougher.

But now, none of that was an issue. While others would be overwhelmed by the relentless elemental monster rushes, Bae Dohyun faced no such worry.

Thirty daggers took care of the elemental monsters on their own. Moreover, another advantage was, ‘My pursuers have fallen back.’

The monitors that had hovered within a certain range greatly increased their distance after the monster rush began. This allowed him the freedom to unleash his full power without issue, depending on the situation.

All that was left was to retrieve the guardian statue. Bae Dohyun walked resolutely through the Elemental Jungle. Even without directly intervening, the weapons imbued with aura effortlessly blocked the rapier.

Despite the relentless targeting by the elemental monsters, an even greater number of weapons filled the space, slaughtering them.

“How dare a human set foot on this sacred ground! You will never be forgiven! You are cursed, wretch!”

The dark-skinned man, constantly hurling curses at Bae Dohyun, charged forward. With ears distinctly different from humans, any fantasy aficionado would recognize him at once.

A Dark Elf.

The guardian of the Elemental Jungle dungeon was a Dark Elf Master.

‘But a monster is still a monster.’

Expecting rational dialogue just because he could speak and resembled a human was a mistake. His words were one-sided, and no matter what Bae Dohyun said, there was no response.

Most boss monsters in Connect were like this. Whether they were infected by demonic energy or under some curse, they could only spout predetermined lines, and communication with players was impossible.

They moved solely based on their fixed objective—to defend the dungeon or gate. In some ways, they were in a worse plight than the guardians who were bound by seals to protect the barrier for ages.

“I don’t know why you’re bound to this dungeon, but I won’t pity you.”

Bae Dohyun unsheathed his primary weapon, a longsword.

“I’ll make it quick.”

He drew aura from the sword and slowly guided its blade toward the Dark Elf Guardian, who was bound by his legion of weapons.

Swish, swish, swish.

The golden aura blade carved through the space, skimmed the rapier, and drove deep into the Dark Elf’s body. And with that, the battle—if it could even be called that—was over.

Few monsters could move after being decapitated, and the Dark Elf was not one of them. Bae Dohyun used his psychokinesis to gently close the glaring eyes of the decapitated Dark Elf and started walking again.

Slightly bending his knees, he saw a sapling that had barely taken root standing pitifully.

‘A branch of the World Tree. The guardian statue of the Elemental Jungle is this.’

It may have looked strange for what was called a statue, but the quest clearly indicated this sapling.

“I’ll take you to where you belong.”

Gently brushing away the soil, Bae Dohyun carefully placed the sapling in his arms.

*

“He’s coming!”

“Everyone, to your positions!”

The interior of Pioneering Site A-07 became chaotic. Given that it housed a tree 100 meters tall, the space was incredibly wide. Champion Overlord Guildmaster Liu Minghao wielded a massive crescent blade as he arranged his guild members.

In total, over 2,000 players had gathered at the site, including affiliated and allied guilds, with 500 specifically summoned by him.

While the total number could go over ten thousand, players below a certain level would only be a burden. The 2,000 present had at least completed their second job change (50LV).

Warriors could use mana blades, mages could cast at least 4th-circle spells, and superhumans wielded intermediate-grade powers.

Moreover, Liu Minghao himself was ranked 82nd, and nearly 50 of the 2,000 players were within the top 1,000 rankings.

“Will you hand it over peacefully?”

“Of course not. Would the top-ranked player just give up so easily? He may not rush into a fight, but he’ll likely try to negotiate.”

No one in their right mind would forcefully take over a quest occupied by another guild. Bae Dohyun probably didn’t expect them to hand over the site easily either.

He would likely suggest some terms for negotiation.

“Then what’s your plan? Will you accept his offer?”

“Well, we’ll see how it goes.”

If Bae Dohyun proposed a reasonable deal, accepting it wasn’t a bad option. They could secure the A-rank pioneering site with minimal damage. But if his terms were unreasonable, ‘We’ll just take it by force.’

With this number of rankers present, even the top-ranked player couldn’t possibly win.

‘A 1-vs-100 scenario is only in movies. A 1-vs-2,000 fight is just impossible. Learn your limits, Bae Dohyun.’

Liu Minghao smiled as he patted his beloved weapon. Even if they couldn’t seize the guardian statue, no significant loss would occur. They could continue resetting the outer pioneering quests and slowly establish their base.

Killing Bae Dohyun would elevate the guild’s reputation, so there was nothing to lose.

‘Come, come quickly. Hehe.’

Laughing as he imagined himself as the ruler of the Elemental Jungle, Liu Minghao had no clue what kind of monster he was about to confront.

(To be continued)